Complementary books

Audiobook editions

Since the inception of Harry Potter series, the stories have also been released as audiobooks. In the United Kingdom, the audiobooks were narrated by Stephen Fry, with Jim Dale handling the narration for the U.S. editions. The audiobooks were released in both CD and cassette formats, though the cassette editions are no longer in print due to the general lack of demand for titles in this format. For the earlier books in the series, there was generally a delay between the release of the print and audio editions.[2] The later editions generally saw the audio copies being released the same day as the print editions, likely a result of the growing popularity of the series. Most recently the books were made available in the first ever online audio editions through Pottermore via the Pottermore Shop and were also made available to libraries for lending.

Behind the scenes

The first and last books of the Harry Potter books of the series came out ten years apart. Coincidentally, the first and last movies of the series also came out ten years apart.

There is a dinosaur that has been named Dracorex hogwartsia, with Hogwartsia being based on the name of Hogwarts, in honour of the series. The name translates to "Dragon King of Hogwarts."

With the exception of the first and third books, there is always a chapter with the same name as the book.

Also, with the exception of the third book, there is always at least one character that dies in the final chapter(s) of the books (although in the second book this is a basilisk, not a human character).

In September2012, J. K. Rowling admitted to having rushed work on some of the Potter novels due to tight deadlines, and floated the possibility of someday releasing "director's cut" editions of the novels.[3]

Brad Walrod served as the typesetter for the Harry Potter books from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire onwards.

In total, the Harry Potter series spanned 36 years, beginning in 1981 and ending in 2017.